2000 Man
Like a few others writing here, I am a Dylan fan, so that is bound to color my view. I saw this movie twice in its theatrical release, the first time in San Rafael, CA with about 4 or 5 others in the theatre. The movie affected me deeply--at first, the apocalyptic scenario was intensely disturbing--almost too bleak for me to handle, but then I got into the absurdist flow of the film. This movie ostensibly has a "plot," but it's also plot less at the same time-- the plot may not matter as much as the illusions created along the way. My other most salient memory is of my being moved to tears during Dylan's performance of "Dixie." Such a stark and plaintive rendition of that old song. The musical performances throughout the movie are some of the best performances by Dylan captured on film. This is a great way to see latter-day Dylan (2002 in Canoga Park to be precise), and you can watch the video of "Cold Irons Bound" on youtube to see what I mean. I wish Dylan's people would release a DVD of the songs recorded that day in Canoga Park--as many as 20 songs, according to some accounts. As I write this review, president-elect Trump is waiting in the wings, and I fear the film's apocalyptic tone will be more relevant than ever. If you love Dylan and film as an art form, this movie is definitely worth a look. I've looked many times!
dannysokov
I've heard a spectrum of descriptions when it comes to this film, even to the extent of it being labelled masturbatory - however if I could, I'd give it an 11.Bob Dylan and Larry Charles, two phenomenal storytellers in their own right, soak their self- contained dystopia in the kind of metaphor that would leave Wes Anderson and Tarantino stumped.Coen brothers favourites Jeff Bridges and John Goodman, Pre-AHS Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett, Penelope Cruz and Mickey Rourke with award-worthy performances, Val Kilmer and Giovanni Ribisi with the monologues of the decade. All that and the man himself, winding his way through his visual lyric, singing songs and just trying to make sense of it all.It's a weird one that triggers all sorts of reactions, and certainly raises a lot of questions - whether reflective of our own world views, or simply "why are we watching this at 2am?" Personally, I'd call this the cinematic equivalent of "Waiting for Godot"; a perfect reflection of the irrationality of 20th century dogma.By no means casual viewing, but a great one for moments of existential crises.
justincward
In a dystopian Latin-American future, cynical has-been rock star Jack Fate (really? Is that the best name you could come up with?) supplies the soundtrack to revolution, which is not televised, and isn't a real revolution anyway.You may remember the first time you ever heard one of Dylan's classic songs, and began to realise that it didn't matter that it made no sense. The point was just to let it wash over you and grin inwardly at the sharp sardonic points, the clever bad rhymes and the surreal metaphors. M&A is like that with moving pictures and stunt casting. Jessica Lange is the best, John Goodman (doing his usual crooked hard-drinkin' hustler shtick) is the worst. Bob himself is best when performing with the band, but if you remember that he was (only!) 60 when this was made, it's surprising how tired and frail he looks and sounds. No Bob, we don't like it when your singing sounds like you're going to cough something up, even if you do. And he still can't act, or should that be 'doesn't bother to act'? Masked and Anonymous is fun for Dylan fans and cameo-spotters - what more could a Dylan fan want? Just don't expect to be spoon-fed.
Hiroki_Sugimura
I rented this movie because it was said as a good musical movie and I was curious to see how Bob Dylan acted. But before putting the DVD I went on IMDb and seeing the cast I was really excited and became even more when I saw the below average rate it received, I really wanted to know how Penélope Cruz, Luke Wilson and mainly the Big Lebowski duo Jeff Bridges and John Goodman could, together, make a mediocre movie.The movie gave me about 110min to understand but I took about 20 (being positive). The rest of the movie was first spent hoping something would put emotions, good dialogs (because the "You got to look though the windshield not at it" did not really convince me) or at least interest in the movie. The last 30 min where past looking at when this movie would be over.I really do think it is just plain bad and that is why I only recommend the real Bob Dylan fans to perhaps think of maybe renting it someday.
AD
